Youthful Offenders

With offices located in Manhattan, White Plains, Stamford and Larchmont, perhaps the most frequent calls we field are calls from frantic parents, concerned about whether their son’s or daughter’s arrest is going to prevent them from getting into the college of their choice, or from getting a job in the future.

Fortunately both New York State and Connecticut allow youthful offender status in certain situations.

In order to be eligible for YO status in New York, the child must be above 16 and below 19. In order to be eligible for YO status in Connecticut, the child must be below 18 years old..

The law was scripted to prevent young people from ruining their lives based upon youthful indiscretions.

Our Manhattan and White Plains criminal defense lawyers will tell you that, in certain situations, youthful crime records are sealed under NYS CPL 720.35 at sentencing and thereafter and can only be accessed by courts, law enforcement, or probation.

Our White Plains and Larchmont criminal defense attorneys will consult you that this means that your son’s future employer or your daughter’s future college cannot access their records under any circumstances.

Certain types of youthful crimes are not eligible for YO status.

Our Manhattan, White Plains and Stamford criminal defense lawyers will consult you that teenagers who commit the most serious crimes, like murder or armed robbery, will be tried as adults and are not eligible for YO status in either New York or Connecticut.

Our New York and Westchester County criminal defense lawyers will tell you that children under 16 will almost always be processed and charged in family court. The same rule applies to children under 15 in the State of Connecticut.

The penalties are much less severe if YO status is granted.

For example, a Class A misdemeanor, which is often the level of the crime committed by our young clients (like petit larceny, criminal mischief, fake identification, or possession of marijuana), which typically carries a maximum jail term of one year, is subject to only a maximum term of six months in jail if YO status is granted.

Moreover, our Westchester, Manhattan and Fairfield County criminal defense lawyers explain to our clients, at the very first meeting, that, even in cases in which our young clients are not granted YO status, there are options.

Frequently, our Manhattan, Stamford and White Plains criminal defense attorneys have been able to get our young clients ACD’s which result in dismissal of the charge after six months.

Our White Plains and Manhattan criminal defense lawyers have frequently also been able to obtain NYS CPL 160.50 sealing orders for our young clients at the conclusion of a case.

A sealing order is important because it means that no records can be accessed, and the person’s record thereafter appears as if no crime was ever committed.

Accordingly, if your son or daughter has been arrested in any of the Connecticut Jurisdictions in which we regularly appear, like Cos Cobb, Greenwich, Stamford, Norwalk, Darien, Wilton or Danbury; or the Westchester County courts which we frequently appear in like – Scarsdale, Rye, Harrison, Mount Kisco, Larchmont, Greenburgh, Mamaroneck, White Plains, Tarrytown, Irvington or Ardsley, or the New York City courts in which we most frequently appear, such as, Manhattan, Bronx and Queens, do not hesitate to call our Manhattan and Westchester County criminal defense lawyers immediately. The call is absolutely free, and our attorneys are standing by 24/7 to answer any and all questions you may have.